“Automated vehicles have the potential to save thousands of lives, driving the single biggest leap in road safety that our country has ever taken,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. “This policy is an unprecedented step by the federal government to harness the benefits of transformative technology by providing a framework for how to do it safely.”

Shops and insurers will feel that change far sooner than the market-ready debut of full autonomy (the car drives itself while the occupants sleep — or aren’t present at all). OEMs working to reach that Holy Grail will be able to use what they learn to refine the advanced driver’s assistance systems — a form of autonomy in themselves — or semi-autonomy available on luxury cars today or with the 2017 model year.

And so, it’s a big deal that the DOT has made it easier for those OEMs and the industries supporting them to do all of this with the document issued Tuesday.

“Public input has been essential to getting this right. There has been a strong call from state and local governments, industry, safety experts, mobility advocates, and average Americans to establish a clear policy for the deployment of automated vehicles on our roads,” Foxx said in another statement. “There are huge upsides and significant challenges that come with automated vehicle technology, and we will continue the conversation with the (public) over the coming months and years as this technology develops.”

The DOT wrote that the “primary focus of the policy is on highly automated vehicles, or those in which the vehicle can take full control of the driving task in at least some circumstances.” But the document would in places also extend to “lower levels of automation, including some of the driver-assistance systems already being deployed by automakers today.”

According to the DOT, the new policy offers OEMs some best practices — and “immediate short term” expectations for testing the vehicles before it actually lets the general public drive them (so to speak).

It also gives any states which want to allow self-driving car tests on their roads — some have already — a model for how to do it and what it expects at the national and state levels. Notably, states would stay in charge of licensing, registration and car insurance/liability under the plug-and-play sample model.

“Today, a motorist can drive across state lines without a worry more complicated than, ‘did the speed limit change?’ The integration of HAVs should not change that ability,” the policy states.

“Similarly, a manufacturer should be able to focus on developing a single HAV fleet rather than 50 different versions to meet individual state requirements. State governments play an important role in facilitating HAVs, ensuring they are safely deployed, and promoting their life-saving benefits. The Model State Policy confirms that States retain their traditional responsibilities for vehicle licensing and registration, traffic
laws and enforcement, and motor vehicle insurance and liability regimes.”

The policy also reinforces the NHTSA’s current role (recalls, defects, etc.) and examines where it and other agencies might need to go in the future to keep everyone safe.

The speed with which HAVs are advancing, combined with the complexity and novelty of these innovations, threatens to outpace the Agency’s
conventional regulatory processes and capabilities,” the policy states.

“This challenge requires DOT to examine whether the way DOT has addressed safety for the last 50 years should be expanded to realize the safety potential of automated vehicles over the next 50 years.”

“New technologies developed in the 20th century, like seat belts and air bags, were once controversial but have now saved hundreds of thousands of American lives,” Foxx said in a statement. “This is the first in a series of proactive approaches, including the release of a rule on Vehicle to Vehicle communications, which will bring lifesaving technologies to the roads safely and quickly while leaving innovators to dream up new safety solutions.”

Featured image: In a move that ought to provide direction for states and manufacturers on the hot but controversial technology, the Department of Transportation on Tuesday announced its first crack at a federal policy for self-driving cars. (Screenshot from NHTSA video on YouTube)